Back to Prague

We took a tram, the underground, and a train to start our journey back to Prague, our last hurrah before leaving Europe. A very nice Czech couple and their baby joined us in our compartment after we crossed the Czech border. Unfortunately, they don't wear deodorant and their body odor was very difficult for us to be trapped in such a small space with.

We stayed once again at the Charles Bridge Economic Hostel. We are in a different room this time. The blinds on one if the windows were missing so I got creative and stuck a picture from the wall in there.

On  Monday morning we headed out to Prague castle, which turned out to be much more modern than expected. Apparently its still in use so they keep it up to date. Which is not so interesting to see in my opinion. We heard some kids saying that it was the largest castle in the world.  We weren't sure if he was making it up or not, so I double checked it and found his fact to be legit.

The best part was that Katie filled in as our unofficial tour guide. She gave us facts such as "To your right you will see a building that was constructed before the 1800s" or "Somebody important lived here" or "This is where the priest charges his ipod." Best tour ever.

Do you see the ipod?

Then we looked around at the market and saw the Astronomical Clock. Every hour as the clock strikes a man pops out of the side and plays a little tune on his horn. It sounded much cooler than what it turned out to be, but it was still pretty interesting. I feel bad for the horn blower guy.  Seems like a boring job to me.

Before we knew it, it was time to check out of our hostel and part ways. Katie and Liz went off to teach English, while Kristen and I headed for our next hostel. It took us forever to find and the rest of the day was filled with us getting lost. A lot. I've never walked in so many circles. While we were galavanting about, we passed a man covered in gold paint to look like a statue. He wasn't very good at standing still, though. He winked as we passed by him and next thing I knew, he had tapped my behind with his cane. It was so funny. I still didn't give him a tip.

In between getting lost, we tried to take a trip to Terezin (a Jewish ghetto), but it ended up that once we got all the way there, we would have had to come right back. Instead, we visited the Jewish cemetary and synagogues. They were really interesting.  I loved learning about the history of the Jewish people. My favorite was a room full of art work by children in Terezin. So touching. I have had a great day and a great trip, but I am definitely ready to head home.

Vienna

Next, we were off to Vienna on another train. Our hostel in Vienna was called the Happy Hostel. It wasn't all that happy, though. I didn't feel very comfortable both nights that we stayed there. Vienna itself didn't impress me all that much either. Which is probably unfair to the city since we just came from Hallstat and NOTHING can top that.

I have earned the nickname "Quick Draw " because I am always the first one to get my camera out when we need one. My other nicknames are "Hiccups a lot" and another one that I can only tell people in person since it requires a lot of explaining in order for people to not judge me too harshly.

On Saturday, we kept getting turned around, so we decided to do a hop on hop off tour. I don't necessarily love tours like that, but they do help to get your bearings in an unfamiliar place. The first place we got off at was St. Stephens cathedral. Of course, it had a beautiful exterior. My favorite part was the colors inside. They had hung sheets of colored celaphane-ish stuff over the windows and it created the most gorgeous ceiling I have ever seen.

The next place we got off took up most of our day. We went to the Schonbrunn Palace, which we toured the inside of. It looked like your typical palace, but the historical information we heard was fascinating. I felt so bad for the queens daughters that were not the favorite. They were not allowed to marry for love. Their marriages were made for political reasons. The Austrians we able to gain more power that way without going to war. The best part about the palace was the beautiful gardens surrounding it. I could have spent all day out there. They also had a maze made out of shrubbery that was harder than we thought to find our way to the end. Once again, we found a really cool playground that the poor American children would be so jealous of. It had a back hoe in the sand pit and this giant bird thing that you could sit inside and make the wings flap.

After seeing a little more of the city, we went to a restaurant near the cathedral we were at earlier. It had a German name that sounds like the 12 Apostles. We had to climb down stairs to get down there. We never would have eaten there had a friend not recommended it and boy were we glad she did. I ate schnitzel and potato salad an both were wonderful. The potato salad was totally different from what I am used to. It had vinegar instead of mayonnaise. Also, I have no idea why there is an American restaurant called Weiner Schnitzel. It leads all of us to believe that it would be a hot dog. Not so. They call hot dogs frankfurters. Original schnitzel is breaded and fried veal. My schnitzel was pork, though. The highlight off the whole meal was the 2 men serenading everyone. When they got to our table and found out that we are American, they played songs like : Home on the Range I've Been Working on the Railroad Do re me Edel Weiss Killing Me Softly.

 A wonderful meal was followed by wonderful gelato at Zanoni and Zanoni. I got pistachio (one of my favs).

On Sunday, we started off the day by walking around some gorgeous gardens in the middle of the Ring near the Hofberg. It rained last night so there were still raindrops on the roses (one of Maria's "favorite things").

Plus, there were some Asian people doing tai Chi in the middle of the gardens. :) After getting a quick breakfast, we ventured off to church. We found the building just in time. The whole Sacrament meeting was in German but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was really good to be able to partake of the Sacrament. I also loved singing the hymns in German.

Hallstat (aka Heaven)

Our next stop was Hallstat. We got off the train at the Hallstat stop only to find out that our hotel was actually in the neighboring town of Obertraun.  It took us about 30 minutes to walk there with our backpacks, but we didn't mind in the slightest.  It was the best little hike of my life.

We arrived in Obertraun to find out that it is the most gorgeous little town, next to a serene lake, surround by breathtaking mountains.

Everything closes EARLY in Obertraun, but we were able to find one pizzeria open to feed us dinner. Someone in our group came up with the idea of opening a restaurant there that stays open past 9pm. I am convinced that it would do quite well.  Even the desk in our hotel was closed.  They left our key out for us.  Out in the open.  And nobody took it. Wouldn't it be nice to live somewhere like that? (The correct answer is yes.)

(Thursday) Today has got to be the best day of the entire trip. We are surrounded by soo many wonderful things. We took the ferry from Obertraun to Hallstat. Today was a Catholic holiday so there were people all dressed up in dresses and lederhosen parading around the streets.

Besides everything being gorgeous, there were so many kind people and so many good things to buy. Usually when I travel I feel like it is so hard to find souvenirs I like, but in this town it was no problem at all.

The main attraction of the town is the salt mine, which we took a tour of.  In the 1700s, there was a dead man's body found in the mine which was preserved for thousands of years by the salt. Pretty cool. I learned so much and we got to ride down the longest underground slide in the world.

Katie is behind me, but she leaned the wrong way when the picture was taken.

Once we crossed the lake back over to our hotel, we ate dinner and then jumped on the trampoline out back. We continued having a blast by hanging out at the dock. Next we walked over to the playground to zip down the zip line and make ourselves sick on the merry -go -round. I am convinced that Austrian children are going to turn out to have more fulfilling lives since they have merry -go -rounds and they are coming to be so sparse in US playgrounds (at least at the parks I have visited recently). Darn those Americans and their lawsuits ruining everybody else's fun.

                 

I could go on and on about this little piece of Heaven on Earth, but I must get to bed.


On Friday morning, we took the ferry over to Hallstat again. Once there, we rented a small motor boat to explore the lake with. The boat only had two speeds-slow and slower, but it was still fun. We were finally able to take a closer look at the small castle we've been curious about since first arriving in Hallstat. We later learner that the original owner was a sword maker. It has been kind of interesting to find how much Austrians listen to American music. There was a radio on the boat, so we jammed out to music from the motherland while I held up my umbrella to guard us from the beating sun. I always thought that was a silly thing to do, but as I was walking behind an Asian lady today, I realized how ingenious the idea was. One man on the ferry back to Obertraun wanted to take a picture of us because he found it so entertaining. We willingly obliged.

 I was so beyond sad to leave Hallstat /Obertraun. I definitely will return some day if I can. 

Salzburg and the Sound of Music

Right now we are on the train to Austria. I was ecstatic to see that the seats are set up in little sections along a corridor, just like when Harry Potter and his friends travel to Hogwarts (minus the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans). We also confirmed my suspisions about how whatever you flush down the toilet goes directly onto the tracks. The entire train trip is going to be over 6 hours long. Yikes!

We finally arrived in Salzburg. Our first order of business was to find some food. Once we ate and took a power nap, we headed off for the marionette theater. The show they did tonight was "The Sound of Music" and it was delightful. I was amazed throughout the entire performance. I would definitely recommend it to anyone.

(We couldn't take pictures during the performance,

 but I found online that someone else did)

Today I learner that Europeans are pretty smart about conserving water with their toilets. There are two different flush buttons. One for #1 and the other for #2. Ingenious.

To finish off the day, we stopped in a restaurant for dessert. It turned out to be Greek, and it was delicious. Plus there were a bunch of very entertaining men in there having some sort of celebration. Now I am super excited to go to sleep.


Things that made today great (Wednesday) :
1. We finally got a good night's sleep. Yay for my body getting used to Europe time and a quiet room!

2. Sound of Music tour
  a. They picked us up at our hostel so we didn't have to find it
  b. Our guide repeated his phrases so many times it was comical
  c. All the sites from the movie (Von Trapp house and lake, convent, wedding chapel, glass gazebo,     Mozart's foot bridge, hohen salzburg fortress, and the mirabell gardens they dance around in, and the lakes from the movie beginning

  d. Apple Struedel and ice cream in Mondsee

  e. Finding out that when the Austrian president went to Washington DC, they played "Edel Weiss" for him because the movie led them to believe it was an Austrian song, but he had never heard of it before because Rogers and Hammerstein wrote that song. :)

3. I found water that only cost €0.63. Water is such a rip off everywhere we go-especially in restaurants.  One of the phrases we've learned in German is "Is the water free?" Nope. Never.
 
4. Watching a bee pollinating the flowers in Mirabell Gardens

Another thing you should know about The Sound of Music movie: If the Von Trapps had actually climbed over the mountain they did in the movie, they would have ended up in Germany.  More specifically, right at the Eagle's Nest (Hitler's headquarters).  The real Von Trapp family took a train out of there.

Czech out Prague

The day has been much, much better from this point on. We're certain this had much to do with the prayer we offered once we got off the underground. We checked into our Prague hostel (Charles Bridge Economic Hostel) and found it to be better than expected. The people who work here are so happy, helpful, and honest.

We had a fantastic lunch /dinner at a fancy Czech restaurant. It was my first time eating duck and I it was my favorite of all three meats we had. Later on we went to the bakery next door and I had a sweet bready thing cooked on a spit. It too was delectable.

               

The best part of this hostel is that it came with a free tour of Prague. Monika, our guide, did an excellent job at showing us around the city's cobblestone streets. We all signed our names on the John Lennon wall, saw the bridge with all the lover's locks on it, and got to look inside the coolest ever art piece in the library, built entirely of books. Up a hill, we were interested in a wall and why it was there. Monika said that King Charles hired a bunch of men to build the "Hunger Wall" soley for the purpose of giving them jobs. I looked it up and others are doubtful that's the only reason, but I'd still like to believe it's the main reason. Everything in Prague was beautiful and the weather was really nice. It has rained a little, but not too badly.

Lennon Wall

 I'm on the wall!

Lock Bridge

 View from Lock Bridge

Amazing book tower

Getting There

No, this is not a post on the worst Mary Kate and Ashley movie ever made (whoever wrote the story line is even too embarrassed to have their name shared on IMDB).

It's about getting to Europe!! Much better, eh?

(Disclaimer: I know that writing should stick in the same tense, but I wrote my notes throughout the trip so it changes from present to past to future tense quite frequently.)

I woke up to my mom ringing the doorbell. Ahh! I slept in! It was just like a scene from Home Alone. Only I didn't have a fallen power line to blame. She was there to take me to the airport for my flight to Prague (via NY) . That was the fastest I have ever gotten ready in my life. And as far as I can tell, I didn't forget anything.

I am now on the flight to New York. I was reading The Book of Mormon and the guy next to me started asking me questions about it and the Church. I have always heard stories about people talking to their seatmates about the Church and I always felt kinda left out, but I guess I just wasn't sitting by the right people.

Getting ready to take off from NYC to Prague with Liz, Katie, and Kristen. I love how Katie described our friendship on her blog:  "The only thing we had in common before this trip was our individual friendship with Liz and now we’re all friends together. It’s facebook official. It was the perfect group of people to travel around Austria with." 

Michael Cera  (or his lookalike cousin) is sitting right by us on the plane. He totally knew that we were talking about him and trying to get photographic evidence he was there.  Thus, he dodged my camera in all my pictures.

Turns out that our take off took over two hours.  Let's just say that I'm really not a fan of JFK airport (this has happened to me before) and the Delta crew did far less than a satisfactory job of making our time on the tarmac bearable.

Note to self : Bring some heavy sleeping medicine next time I go on an overnight flight.  Or start saving now so that I can upgrade to nicer seats. Or both.

During the night, dreadlock man sitting next to Katie spilled his beer into her bag sitting innocently on the floor. He was too afraid to tell her and ended up ruining a bunch of her stuff. :(

Well, we got ripped off only 5 minutes after exiting the Prague airport. A shady man who worked at the airport sold us invalid tickets. After being on the bus for only 5 minutes, the ticket checker showed up and informed us of how naive and foreign we were. We had to pay a fine of 400 Czech crowns apiece (approx. twenty bucks). We are learning lessons quick in this country.

The Hills are Alive

I am about to be here, doing this...

I'll miss you all greatly!